Why Do I Care?OK, I get it — that may sound like a weird statement… but when we are suffering from traumatic loss, we all want to find a new normal -right? Or most of us anyway, that are trying t o make a choice to heal.

But what does that have to do with a focus on love? LOTS!

Here’s what I mean… there are always multiple ways to achieve any goal, and depending on the methods you choose – it will take more or less time to get there, and the quality of the results will vary.

So… you COULD choose to:

– stay stuck in the pain and focus only on what you’ve lost

– medicate yourself into oblivion, in an effort to stop feeling

– try to heal yourself without any help or resources

Understandable, but that is the HARD way! The LONG way! The EASIER way is to focus on LOVE-based activities to heal.

These might include the following 10 things: (guessing you’ll have our own too!)

1. reaching out to help others – in any way, for any cause that appeals to you 2. reading about, exploring and expanding your spirituality (spiritual growth) 3. focusing on positive memories; what a gift your lost loved one was to you 4. finding & listening to music that makes you feel good & reminds you of them 5. doing memorial projects that you think they’d like (photos, arts, dedications) 6. caring out rituals that honor your loved one and make you feel better (scholarships, planting trees, memorial ceremonies, balloon-butterfly-or-lantern releases, giving memory of) 7. taking good care of yourself and your family – with proactive self-care (things like meditation, journaling, good nutrition, exercise, rest, and spending time in nature) 8. encouraging open communication about grief with your family & friends (including tolerance of differences and other opinions, but trust your intuition regarding what’s right for you. 9. having an open mind to new things that may help – give them a chance (energy healing, spiritual mediums, holistic therapies, etc – but always get a reference for good ones).10. getting support to help you with your grief (online resources, local support groups, therapy, books, webinars, tele-seminars, conferences, connecting with others in similar circumstances)

I believe that it truly is ALL about the LOVE! When we focus on life from that perspective, we not only hear ourselves better and quicker… we help heal those around us and we make our departed loved ones happier. They want us to heal and find hope, happiness and a new normal. When we are living in a higher level energy vibration, it may be easier for them to connect to us – because they are now on a very high energy vibration. I’ve gotten this message form my departed son, Brent. PS None of this is EASY or FAST… it’s HARD WORK, but it could be worse…

A Butterfly’s Journey (ABJ) has a mission to help individuals and families struggling with grief after the loss of a child, or other early loss, to find hope and a new normal. We do that through events, grief recovery classes, a comprehensive online Resource Center, and our photo shoots to allow grievers to express themselves simply, visually and emotionally to spark discussion. We also provide assistance to other organizations through education and resources.

Barbara J Hopkinson, ABJ Founder, President & Executive Director has lost 3 children and led bereaved families through the journey of grief for more than 12 years. She founded and leads a chapter of The Compassionate Friends, as well as A Butterfly’s Journey To A New Normal. She is certified Grief Recovery Specialist and author of two books “A Butterfly’s Journey” & “FAITH – Vol.II”

For more information, visit the ABJ web siteContact Barbara at 617-410-6309 or barbara@abutterflysjourney.com for a complimentary 30-minute conversation or schedule it now HERE.

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